Father elect the judges directly from people. In Italy our system does not provide for it at all, even if the idea has always intrigued the centre-right (the last one, a few years ago, was the leader of the League Matteo Salvini), but in other parts of the world this practice is permitted, as in the United States, or is about to become so, albeit amidst a thousand controversies, as in Mexico. And it is a paradox that the reform proposed in the Central American country is leading to a clash precisely with the star-spangled neighbors, supporters of a system that in this case instead, according to the words of the American ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar, "would constitute a threat to Mexican democracy, exposing the judiciary to the influence of crime".
In reality, the reform that is a hobbyhorse of former President Lopez Obrador and which is up to the new president claudia sheinbaum (which enters in office on October 1st) finalize, has as its objective precisely that of eradicating corruption from the courts, a phenomenon that is rampant in Mexico, as well as crime, which in the six years of Amlo's government has literally exploded, registering the highest average in history with 30.000 murders per year. In this context, the trust of citizens Approach to the judicial system has fallen to an all-time low, while approval of law enforcement has increased: just 39 out of 100 Mexicans consider the work of the courts to be acceptable, while two-thirds of them are convinced that judges and magistrates are corrupt.
New Law in Mexico Sparks Controversy and Strikes
In the wake of this perception, partly supported by the data (corruption has been estimated at 2 billion pesos), the reform would therefore like to introduce thedirect election both of the judges of the Supreme Court than those of the various federal courts e state, as well as the Electoral Tribunal. The Supreme Court would also go from 11 to 9 members, with its term reduced from 15 to 12 years and a lower salary cap, no higher than that of the President of the Republic (currently it can be). Since it is a constitutional reform, a qualified majority is needed and this has already been obtained in the Chamber, where Amlo and Sheinbaum's party, Morena, has a more than sufficient number of deputies, while now the ball is in the Senate's court, where the government team does not have an absolute majority and is looking for agreements and "crutches".
The new law has already sparked indignation and protests of insiders, who threaten strikes in the name of the autonomy of powers, but above all it has become a international case. In fact, the people who spoke out about the matter United States, which in the name of nearshoring now have Mexico as their first trading partner, with trade worth 70 billion dollars a year. According to Washington, the formula studied by Amlo and his associates would expose the judiciary to organized crime and this would jeopardize the consolidated and never more intense commercial relations between the two countries. While there are already those who cry out about a possible coup d'état organized by the United States together with the Mexican judiciary, former president Lopez Obrador has asked his North American partners not to interfere and has temporarily suspended relations with the embassy in Mexico City. "We will always have a good dialogue with the United States," said the new president Claudia Sheinbaum, "but certain issues must be decided by the Mexicans."
